HELSINKI, April 25 (Xinhua) -- Finnish President Sauli Niinisto on Thursday underlined the role of the EU in security policies and the need to defend European values.
Addressing the opening of the Finnish parliament, Niinisto said security will be one of the priorities of the Finnish Presidency during the second half of 2019.
He noted that Europe is facing external pressures from differing directions. "We can only thwart them together, within a well functioning European Union," he said.
He warned of the risk of Europe falling apart into different spheres of interest.
Talking to the media afterwards, Niinisto recalled that at the turn of the century the prevailing view was that the world is "good and beautiful and goodness gains ground".
And now, "mere goodness is no longer enough, but it has to be steadfast and needs, for example, legislative support," he added.
Addressing the closing of the previous Finnish parliament, Niinisto praised several legislative changes that enhanced the security policies.
He was unwilling to specify on Thursday what would be still needed in Finland, but referred to his initiative to continue meetings with all parliamentary parties.
Under the constitution, foreign and security policies are to be managed jointly by the president and the government, the parliament would decide when the two disagree.
